Chapter 1525: Knight Under the Blue Sky

With the sound of a loud horn, amidst the cheers of the crowd, Xia De led the jujube-red horse and entered the competition venue with his sword. The knight on the other side also entered the venue fully armored just like him. As the crowd shouted their names loudly, the two waved to the audience together.

The afternoon sun today was exceptionally dazzling, but because it was not yet summer, the dazzling sun was not so scorching.

Under this sun, in the spotlight of thousands, dueling with a guy who he knew wasn't human but looked like a human, even Xia De felt a chill in the corner of his heart.

The two led their horses to the center of the venue, bowed to each other, and then mounted their horses. His Majesty the King, who was watching the ceremony from the highest viewing platform, did not leave because there was a relic here. He picked up the small golden pistol on the table in front of him, smiled and signaled Wang Hou Diana to cover her ears, and then pulled the trigger toward the sky.

Bang!

Xia De and "Sir Hells" simultaneously waved their reins to conduct the first round of face-to-face charges. Both had sufficient courage. At the moment of contact, the vibration and sparks produced by the two steel swords hitting each other were enough to prove the power of the two huge forces.

Although Xia De knew that the other party could exert greater power using an ordinary person's physical fitness, he didn't expect the other party's power to be so strong. He didn't suffer a loss in this blow, but his mount clearly stalled in its charging momentum because it shared the power Xia De bore.

If the subsequent competition remained such a head-on collision, Xia De himself wouldn't have a problem, but this horse would probably retire early due to internal bleeding.

"This won't do."

Xia De thought in his heart, continued to charge forward after separating from Sir Hells, and then waved the reins to let the horse turn.

At this time, the cheers and applause from the stands almost covered all other sounds. At the highest level of the east stands of the arena, Moody Robinson, captain of the Black Stone Security Company, asked Iluna. Iluna looked at the figure in golden armor in the arena and nodded lightly:

"Yes, it seems his swordsmanship is indeed quite good."

Beside Iluna, the female sorcerer with purple-painted lips smiled and said:

"Iluna, you seem to have a very good relationship with this Mr. Hamilton?"

"Yes, with his identity, I can gain many valuable social connections."

Iluna was still looking at Xia De's figure; she knew he wouldn't lose.

"But this knight's social connections are quite complicated. The scandal between him and Duchess Jia Jia Lin Na is known to everyone in Tobesk."

Captain Robinson wanted to remind this promising young girl in his team, but he found it hard to speak, so he looked at his other team member.

The lady with purple-painted lips smiled and said:

"Really young and handsome. If I were more than ten years younger, I'm afraid I would also be fascinated by him."

"You don't actually have to warn me, I know my own business. Rashly getting involved with ordinary people will only implicate innocent people. I will watch him from afar and bless him; I know how to keep my distance."

Iluna held the railing, her eyes still on Xia De. The warm breeze blew the hair hanging by her ears, but it couldn't blow the young girl's heart:

"By his side, I must be the one standing there."

Iluna Miss Beiyasi whispered in her heart, showing a smile in her eyes as she looked at Xia De. She didn't say the small, somewhat dark thoughts deep in her heart, after all, in the eyes of the balanced Chosen One, possessing both good and evil thoughts could be called a true human being.

A flash of light suddenly appeared at the edge of her vision. Iluna's eyes subconsciously tried to capture it, but that intense light source that flashed by was no longer on the opposite stand.

"Is it some lady's makeup mirror?"

She thought in her heart, and then her powerful inspiration captured the abnormality:

"Mirror..."

She continued to stare at Xia De in the arena and pondered. When Xia De blocked his opponent's wooden sword on horseback and used a simple forward-thrust posture, almost poking young Dulahan off his horse, she said to the captain beside her:

"Please contact the church in the city and determine if any illegal groups related to mirrors have entered the Tobesk diocese recently."

On the other side, although Xia De had been letting young Dulahan win, when there were only ten minutes left, he suddenly seemed to have grasped the essence of swordsmanship. With fast, accurate, and ruthless combos, he wielded the wooden sword in his hand like a long whip, continuously hitting white spots on the young opponent's armor.

When the horn sound ending the competition spread under the blue sky, the audience didn't even need to wait for the referee to announce it to understand that "Hamilton of Lei Jiede" had won the semi-final of the second half.

Neither of them was injured, so after dismounting and taking off their helmets, they politely shook hands in the center of the arena to express their respect for their opponents. The camera's magnesium flash flickered wildly, wanting to record this moment, while young Mr. Dulahan whispered a "thank you" to Xia De.

Xia De didn't quite understand at first. As he led his horse to the side of the arena, waiting for the final to open, he realized in hindsight that the young gentleman probably thought Xia De deliberately let him win so that he could perform well in front of his lover, even if he lost the competition, he could show his martial prowess.

Xia De felt that he might have gained another friend.

The weather was good, the sky was blue, and white clouds like ants were moving above his head. The noisy sounds around could not affect Xia De's comfort at this moment. He listened to the palace attendants reading poems through loudspeakers to the entire arena, praising the last two contestants, while thinking about how long such a beautiful life could last.

After a not-so-long rest, accompanied by the cheers of the audience and the explosion of fireworks, the final of the third sub-event of the 1854 Tobesk Ring Riding Tournament finally arrived.

Xia De and Sir Hells from Coldwater Port each led their horses and met in the center of the arena. They raised their swords, kept the two swords crossed in the air for three seconds, and then mounted their horses, waiting for the horn sound to start the final.

Under the helmet, Xia De took a deep breath, and amidst the attention of everyone, he waved the reins and charged toward the old knight who was probably participating in the Ring Riding Tournament for the last time due to his age.

(Little Mia is running...)

Bang!

The sound of the metal helmet being placed heavily on the table startled the cat that was watching Xia De "take off his clothes" with great interest. Xia De, breathing heavily in the tent, had his hair stuck to his forehead by sweat, but there was a rare smile on his face:

"Why is it so hot today? How did the knights of the previous era manage to walk around in armor all day in the summer?"

He complained with a smile, and his good mood infected everyone else in the tent. The maid ladies smiled and helped him take off the armor on his body, and no one stopped them when they took the opportunity to squeeze Xia De's arm. Dorothy stood aside with her notebook:

"After all, it's already spring. Xia De, just now I thought you would let that old knight win a little."

"Why let him win? This is a knight's competition. If I deliberately played any tricks in the final, it would be too undignified. Although Sir Hells lost, he looked very happy and even invited me to visit Coldwater Port when I have time."

Xia De said, and then felt cool. Turning his head, he saw Miss Difa holding a wet towel to wipe his forehead.

"Judging from the point ranking announced this morning, you are definitely the current first place. In the afternoon exhibition match, the one dueling with you should be Sir Hells."

Dorothy said, and Xia De was a little surprised:

"Sir Hells? I thought it would be Mr. Eric Follen. Although he lost to the knight in the morning, I remember the knight's performance in the first round of archery was very poor."

"But Eric Follen's performance in the second round of horse racing was also not good. You probably didn't pay attention; he ranked 18th out of 36 people in the wild riding on Tuesday morning, while Sir Hells ranked third."

Dorothy shook her head:

"In short, you are now one step away from the championship. Eat more for lunch, and then take a nap. If you don't like sleeping here, go to the carriage. When you went to the competition in the morning, Miss Jia Jia Lin Na's private carriage came from the manor. Although it can't compare to a proper room, it's enough for you to rest."

"Forget about the nap. I have a feeling something will happen today."

Xia De shook his head and pressed his hand on his heart:

"I trust my inspiration very much. The 【Faceless Man】 will definitely appear before the end of the competition this afternoon. After eating, I will go out for a walk, and you stay in the tent and wait for me."

"Be careful when you go out yourself. Those who bet on Eric Follen in the underground casino might do some disgusting things."

Dorothy warned, and Xia De nodded. Then he saw Little Mia jump lightly from the cabinet beside the mirror, use the mirror as a springboard, jump directly onto the table beside it, and then jump into the warm helmet, seeming to enjoy the feeling of curling up inside.

After lunch, Xia De left the tent alone. Because it was the last day of the competition, the market was quite lively. Xia De even saw a merchant selling photos of "Hamilton of Lei Jiede's" profile, which should have been bought from a reporter.

But he failed to find any clues about the relic 【Faceless Man】.

When preparing to return to his tent, Xia De thought about finding the Follen brothers to talk. Although he couldn't tell the brothers that he was also a Ring Sorcerer, he intended to test whether they also knew about the 【Faceless Man】.

However, just as he approached Mr. Eric Follen's tent, Xia De felt something was wrong. The brothers' servants were all outside the tent, and although they seemed to be packing luggage, they were actually surrounding the tent to prevent anyone from approaching.

At the same time, after Xia De closed his eyes, he couldn't hear any heartbeats in the tent through the 【Heart of Stone】 sorcery. It was absolutely impossible for there to be no one in the tent, otherwise such a guard would be meaningless. Therefore, this meant that alchemy items like 【Silence Charm】 or sorcery with similar functions were blocking the sound from the tent.

"What are they saying?"

He was quite curious about this. Although eavesdropping on other people's conversations was immoral, after repenting in his heart, he still borrowed the disguise of "Red Butterfly Illusion" and walked over. The Follen brothers were not big figures like Great Witches, and the servants around them were just ordinary people, so there was no need to worry about being discovered.

His luck was quite good. Although the brothers blocked the sound in the tent, they probably didn't intend to have a long conversation, so they didn't set up other anti-reconnaissance rituals.

Under the concealment of the illusion, Xia De walked directly to the west side of the tent. To prevent being detected by the extremely sensitive perception of a Ring Sorcerer, he didn't enter the tent but carefully stretched his fingers toward the ventilation window of the tent. Xia De still couldn't hear the sound in this state, after all, there were no ears on his fingers, but fortunately, "she" could hear it. ===== CHAPTER 1523 =====

Xia De said in a very steady voice, as if he were not the one wielding the sword at all. Sir Hulse, exhausted from parrying, retreated as he fought, and the scales of victory were tilting at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Hamilton of Rejiede, you are not from Coldwater Port, so you probably don't understand the past of my family. In fact, I was a twin when I was born, but when I was about one year old, my younger brother was stolen. This family scandal, even locally in Coldwater Port, is known by very few people."

Xia De smiled, dodged nimbly to the left, avoiding the steel sword that attempted a counterattack during the defense, and then twisted his right ankle, slamming his right shoulder forward in a nearly impossible movement, causing Sir Hulse to almost lose his footing and fall again.

"Is there a possibility that..."

He wanted to continue his attack, but suddenly frowned; the knight's strength had actually increased.

【He suspects you are questioning his identity; the relic is manifesting part of its power.】

"She" whispered a reminder, so Xia De slowed his offensive stance. He stepped back to observe the situation, but Sir Hulse had already taken the initiative to pursue him. At this moment, the longsword in his hand truly turned into a dancing blur; driven by the kinetic energy from the knight's twisting body, the sword-dance-like offensive left Xia De, who was unprepared, overwhelmed.

"The Witcher's Sword Dance, specifically designed to deal with swarms of non-humanoid creatures. When a sword master uses this technique while walking in the rain, not even a single raindrop can wet their clothes."

Xia De recognized this swordsmanship immediately; this was definitely not something Sir Hulse could have mastered.

Fortunately, there was a record of this swordsmanship in the inheritance of the 【Night Watchman】. Although Xia De could not use it as skillfully as the person in front of him, at least he knew from what angle to parry.

The gasps and cheers of the crowd were now completely indistinguishable. Ordinary people could not identify the burden the "Sword Dance" placed on the body and wrists, thinking it was just some flashy swordsmanship, but the Ringed Ringed Shushi who were ready to intervene at any moment all knew how dangerous the situation was.

But fortunately, although Xia De could not block every swing, the steel sword could not cause any damage when it struck his armor.

"Miss Miss Jia Lin Na is really willing to spend money."

Many people thought this to themselves.

"Is there a possibility that the one who went missing was you, and you are actually your younger brother?"

Xia De asked the complete sentence, and the sword dance that was slashing toward him like a torrential storm suddenly paused.

"What do you mean?"

Because he increasingly felt that something was going to happen recently, Xia De had specifically woken up early this morning and gone to Mid-Hill Fort to find Grace and Helen, inquiring about the 【Faceless Man】, which was also an Angel-level humanoid relic.

The sisters also knew about this relic. Although they didn't know much about him, because it was related to "twins," the Red Butterfly girls gave Xia De a very certain conclusion:

"Although you cannot make him realize that you suspect his identity, you can make him doubt his own identity, thereby causing him to fall into temporary confusion. Since the Faceless Man steals other people's faces, it is easier for him to confuse himself; this is the method summarized by the people of the Fifth Era for dealing with him. As for the story of what happened to him, that is another sad past."

At this moment, in the central grandstand area, the figures of Miss Miss Jia Lin Na and Lei Lei Qianya appeared together. The Duke and the Princess had rushed over from the city together, having only just received the news on the way.

The brilliant spring sunshine shone on their extremely similar long red hair. After greeting Wang Hou Diana, the witch frowned slightly and said in Lei Lei Qianya's ear:

"I can't hear what they are saying at all, but don't worry too much. Although it is an Angel-level relic, Xia De has faced even more dangerous things."

"If the 【Faceless Man】 goes berserk, can you beat it?"

Lei Lei Qianya asked. Miss Miss Jia Lin Na thought for a moment and shook her head cautiously:

"Defeating it completely is impossible, but taking you away is still possible. After all, there are so many people here."

Lei Lei Qianya knew what she meant:

"It is not convenient for me to come forward. After this matter is over, you must get appropriate compensation for Xia De. With so many people here, why let him, an ordinary person, face such a dangerous thing? Even if the opponent's characteristics have not yet manifested and he is no different from a normal person, that is, after all, a relic."

"The Church will provide appropriate compensation... It looks like it's almost over."

"The one who went missing was me, and I am actually my younger brother?"

Sir Hulse whispered, repeating Xia De's statement, and suddenly swung his sword at Xia De's shoulder. Xia De retaliated with a nearly identical move. The two swords collided. Their helmets were also almost pressed against the swords:

"What evidence do you have?"

"Think carefully, why do you want to become someone else's appearance?"

Xia De said softly, kicked Sir Hulse away violently, and launched a counterattack while the other was stunned:

"Because you don't know at all what your missing older brother actually looks like, so when you think you are your older brother, your appearance is that of the Faceless Man. Although you are twins, there are differences in appearance after all."

"Is that so?"

The knight's tone was full of doubt, but that did not prevent him from parrying Xia De's attacks. The longsword in Xia De's hand swung with increasing force, and even he himself felt as if he were smashing the sword forward with all his might.

The two moved forward and backward, and Sir Hulse fell into deeper confusion:

"Am I not the older brother, but the younger brother? But since that's the case, why don't I remember what I looked like as a younger brother?"

"Isn't that easy to understand? You have been lost in the wrong identity for too long, to the point where you have completely forgotten what you originally looked like. Do you know what the furthest distance in the world is?"

"The distance between life and death; I have always been worried that my younger brother... or perhaps my older brother, is already dead."

"No, no, the furthest distance in the world is—your younger brother is you, but you cannot see him. Sir, I think you should understand."

What followed was a sustained silence, with only Xia De's offensive becoming increasingly fierce and his force growing greater.

But Xia De did not win easily just like that. Suddenly, the knight raised his longsword to block Xia De's sword and slammed forward. The two suits of armor separated after a heavy clashing sound.

The knight said in a deep voice:

"What you said is interesting, but I still cannot fully believe you."

"I will defeat you, and then make you believe me. We've been fighting for so long, it's time to end it. How about one move to decide the winner?"

The final step of the method provided by Helen and Grace was to defeat the disguised 【Faceless Man】 in a reasonable way, after which the confused relic would leave on its own. It sounds simple, but this is knowledge exchanged for the lives of the witches of the Fifth Era.

The knight accepted Xia De's challenge. Under the gaze of thousands of eyes in the auditorium, the two retreated, held their weapons upright in front of them, bowed to each other, and launched their final charge simultaneously.

This was like the final echo of the era of cold-weapon knights, ringing out in this crazy and progressive age. The armored knights, amidst cheers and applause, on this sunny spring afternoon, in the ancient arena that had been passed down for hundreds of years, and under the witness of tens of thousands of people, swung their final attacks.

The longswords collided, and at that moment, time seemed to stand still.

As the two charging figures slowed their pace and passed each other in different directions, their leg armor made rhythmic metallic sounds as they walked. Xia De's longsword hung low toward the ground, while the half-sword in Sir Hulse's hand was still buzzing.

The blade of the broken sword flew into the air, reflecting dazzling light, and amidst the gasps and jeers of the people, it plunged into the ground in front of the eastern auditorium.

Woo-woo~

The loud sound of horns celebrated the birth of the new year's champion. Everyone stood up to cheer and applaud, and the sound from the loudspeakers spread throughout the entire Edward III Arena:

"In the name of King Larrus III, the 1854 Tobeck Spring Ring-City Riding Tournament has ended. The champion who bears the honor of a knight is—Hamilton of Rejiede!"

Ribbons were blown into the distance by the wind, and the clouds in the azure sky drifted slowly toward the horizon. Xia De struggled to take off his helmet, wiped the sweat from his forehead, plunged his longsword into the ground, and then turned to look at "Sir Hulse" while holding his helmet.

The latter also took off his helmet, revealing a face Xia De had never seen before. He nodded at Xia De with a puzzled expression, then turned and walked toward the rest area, which was already filled with Ringed Ringed Shushi from the Church.

Xia De shook his head, grabbed his longsword, and then held his helmet and longsword high, looking up to accept the enthusiastic cheers and applause of the audience.

Amidst the tense life of adventure and the exhausting running around, enjoying life in this way seemed like a very good choice to the outsider. He smiled as he looked at everyone above, watching the gentlemen applaud with smiles, watching the ladies wave their handkerchiefs at him, watching the middle-class citizens excitedly discussing this year's tournament with each other, and also seeing the people holding betting slips crying bitterly:

"Damn it, how could you win?"

A ball of paper tried to hit him, but was blown back by a gentle breeze and hit his face instead, causing people to laugh out loud.

"What a nice young man."

Wang Hou Diana said to Miss Miss Jia Lin Na, who curled her lipstick-painted red lips and, together with her grandniece, watched the young knight in the arena.

"Hamilton of Rejiede! Hamilton of Rejiede!"

The sound of shouting gradually merged into one. Xia De looked up at the azure sky, feeling that the deep sky was so close to him at this moment.

"Look at that cloud, doesn't it look like Little Mia?"

All he got in return was "her" gentle laughter.

PS: The 1854 Ring-City Riding Tournament has officially ended. I hope this plot doesn't seem too boring.